Editorials

The Art of Adaptability:

The Art of Adaptability:- is a turn of phrase I use to define fitness training, based on Darwin’s philosophy of natural selection. A quote by Leon C. Megginson in 1963 that paraphrases Darwin’s concept of natural selection has often been used to promote the concept of fitness (or similar type past-times). However the phrase has more often than not been whittled down to “the strongest survive”. I believe that this limits the wisdom bound succinctly within the quote. The paraphrased quote is as follows;

“In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment, (Leon C. Megginson, 1963).”

Fitness training in my opinion enhances a person’s synergistic physical and emotional strength. The act of pushing yourself outside your comfort zone allows a person to grow. Consider the concept that from the cradle to the grave our lives are memories of a string of events, would you prefer memories full of knowledge and experience or a list of items you have bought that gather dust on the shelf?

Is it better for us to obtain the prize by taking the short cut of wonder drugs and magic beans? Or if we take the long route, what will we discover on the journey whilst we reach for the destination where the prize rests?

The Art of Adaptability refers to more than physical aesthetics; it is the goal of persistent prime performance. One of the tools, which I use to assist clients, is the principle of the Target-Training Zone (T.T.Z.). The T.T.Z. refers to the physical state of being breathless and able to speak. This is a very important part of the training concepts. This is where most folks are out side of their comfort zone and this is where the most benefit may be obtained. Our physiology becomes very interesting when we reach the T.T.Z. This physical state I am referring to is that of our anaerobic threshold. The anaerobic threshold has commonalities with memory that hard wire our habitual responses to daily life.

Here’s what happens, and here is why it is very important to be in a positive frame of mind when exercising.

When we are breathless and able to speak our heart is racing. We are in an altered physical state – Excited; for good or for worse, excited nonetheless.

This means that our body is a wash with adrenaline that happens to be a memory fixer. Unfortunately, this means we are susceptible to our perceptions that can often associate or be anchored in with the task we are performing.

Ignorance can be a dangerous thing. Without this understanding we may sabotage our attempt at a beneficial lifestyle.

below are two snippets of articles on the subject:

Emotion has powerful influences on learning and memory that involve multiple brain systems engaged at different stages of information processing. Studies of declarative emotional memory show how frontotemporal brain regions act conjointly to promote the retention of emotionally arousing events and retrieve them from long-term stores. Memory-enhancing effects of emotional arousal involve interactions between subcortical and cortical structures and engagement of central and peripheral neurohormonal systems that are coordinated by the amygdala. The memory boost conferred by arousal seems to engage similar brain systems across positive and negative valence. (LaBar, K. S., & Cabeza, R.)

Exercise activates the locus coeruleus and increases brain norepinephrine release, we hypothesized that post-trial exercise could function as a natural stimulus to enhance memory consolidation. We investigated this in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and cognitively normal elderly individuals by examining the effects of an acute bout of post-learning, aerobic exercise (6 minutes at 70% VO2 max on a stationary bicycle) on memory for some emotional images. Exercise significantly elevated endogenous norepinephrine (measured via the biomarker, salivary alpha-amylase) in both aMCI patients and controls. Additionally, exercise retrogradely enhanced memory in both aMCI patients and controls. Acute exercise that activates the noradrenergic system may serve as a beneficial, natural, and practical therapeutic intervention for cognitive decline in the aging population, (Segal, S. K., Cotman, C. W., & Cahill, L. F.).

This leads me to the next section of the concept tailored for a beneficial lifestyle by embracing escapism.

Evoke memory – A memory that is manufactured by the participant to elicit a desired response.

Aspect Avatar – a persona manufactured by the participants to challenge their own concept of reality and develop their beneficial personal traits.

By embracing the concept of escapism, to imagine, to dream allows a person to believe that “What if?” can become “I am”. When we imagine we have the possibility to change how we feel about a situation. We change our perception of reality and our physiology follows suit.

In each of us we can find an “Aspect” of our personality that resonates with the way that we perceive our reality or situation. Some when in our mental development we associated self-limiting or self-liberating behavior with certain situations.

If we were to concentrate on the aspect that allows us to develop a self-liberated approach to our goals we have a better chance at staying the course.

If we create an Avatar to represent this “Aspect” and give it a name, dress it up, give it a history, an identity we can slip into. We can call forward that powerful Avatar/Identity when we need the extra motivation.

For example, the following scenario may have been experienced by many of us at one time or another:

You have a plan organized, a time to start a fitness program with friends or perhaps a regular work out date looms later on in the day and you do not wish to start or take part for one reason or another. At this point to overcome your disingenuous inner voice you would call forth your Aspect Avatar with all the positive attributes you have installed in him/her and allow them to motivate you instead.

When creating your Aspect Avatar for fitness training, stay positive and choose a character that you believe has attributes that will assist you completing your training.

To make the Aspect Avatar a much more ingrained trait you will have to focus on the personality that you have created whilst completing the exercise prescription. The task may also be associated with other evoke memories but that is up to you and what you contemplate whilst you train. Remember that you have to be in your target-training zone, be breathless and able to converse. Your body will be awash with the adrenaline and its use as a memory fixer. Eventually your Aspect Avatar will associate with the task and allow you to ride along.

This concept is simple and like many simple things often over looked. I will leave you with a question. Have you ever noticed in a training environment that the most successful students mimic the instructor’s attributes? Your Aspect Avatars attributes or characteristics are part of your own personality; we are just promoting them to the fore and assisting in developing a self-liberating emotional state.

Embrace escapism:

What inspires? What motivates? Fear? Well yes, that makes folks move pretty quickly, but then it can also paralyze and inspire people to hide.

Desire on the other hand inspires people to move and to engage. It is possible to say that folks are attracted to something different from the norm and there are many reasons for this. However, this encourages people to look to the horizon and ask, “I wonder what’s beyond?”

By dreaming of other possibilities we are inspired, we move and on that journey we develop skills and grow. When we tell others of our discovery, and as the story unfolds it inspires like-minded individuals. Further more, people will associate with certain specifics of the story that resonates with their own previous experiences.

Anecdotes, fables, sermons all motivate people; they may be real or fictional to elicit a response. Either actual or perceived, the effect on the physiology of the listener – if fully engaged – is the same, the person becomes emotionally engaged.

If this concept is taken further and we amalgamate principles of fitness conditioning with inspirational stories we have a greater chance of success. If we desire attributes that we associate with the characters in a story we can challenge ourselves to emulate our heros and stay the course.

Moving forward whilst reflecting on the past

Perhaps the thought of retrospection does not hold all the answers. To be sure there are many signposts for one to read where past mistakes may have been avoided by simply taking another route.

The saying goes “hindsight is perfect vision”, this equates to – mistakes will still be made, hopefully not the same ones. There are many examples of errors being remade in fitness, which is surprising for me. I don’t like to waste time and I presume that others are like-minded. As creatures of habit it behoves us to seek beneficial ones.

Principles to define a beneficial lifestyle:

The only constant is change

Adaptability is fitness

All body mechanics are similar only the intent defines the outcome

Perception is reality and reality is Perception

Without being to dramatic or to cryptic explore the above principles and in doing so you will learn more about the way you work. I find that self-discovery has a higher degree of inertia for that first step on the path of a beneficial lifestyle.

Golf: – Yes they play that in Torqueadia, except with hickory bats and you have to run from hole to hole (18 of them). When I say holes I mean hockey nets with a par 5 of 400 yds ish.

Torqueblade for the Dynamic Golfer? My father would be very amused to read this article, you see as a young man my father tried to introduce me to the noble art of spoiling a good walk whilst hitting a ball. As you have probably guessed I didn’t take well to golf. Well not the real game, at the time I preferred the game with the one club, windmills and the clowns face at the pitch and put.

As a fitness instructor I have always been interested with the similarities of motion within all past times, arts, sports call it what you will. Through studying functional fitness principles I realized that many fitness regimes lacked cohesion even many cross training regimes. I developed a regime which would be applicable for developing gross body mechanics which would in turn enhance specific sport body mechanics and assist in cross training in a functional manner. Starting with the grip to the shoulders the core and finally the legs; the whole body is exercised. Because of the constant change from one exercise to another an elevated heart rate is achieved and maintained. This means the cardiovascular system is also challenged and therefore developed.

Torqueblade training has a unique approach to fitness conditioning which allows a person to develop synergistic body mechanics – as well as:

The golf swing for example, has many characteristics or points of reference are found in other physical past times such as Tennis, Hockey, Lacrosse, Grappling (Judo, Mixed Martial arts) and Boxing.

Hip rotation

torso rotation

based stance

shifting of weight from foot to foot

The exercises which I have demonstrated on the video assist with developing power, developing balance not only with the act of balancing but also with the physique.

The Sapper develops strength by loading one side at a time. The Harvester develops motions similar to the pre load of the swing and the follow through (albeit in a grosser format). The Pendulum helps to develop postural alignment, lower back strength and ham strength.

Getting Quicker results with your training:

Any proficient martial arts or sport specific instructor understands the concepts of cadence, energy transference, tactile awareness and reflex action. Understanding and imparting that information can prove to be a bit of a task.

As instructors we know how important it is for a person to practice the body mechanics to facilitate the desired result. Time is a commodity, especially in this day and age. To maximize the minimum amount of time we have, we need to train in an economical manner and gain as many attributive results as possible.

Folks who follow weapons systems find that the training methodology allows for quicker development in body mechanics. The reason for this is that balance and economy of motion is challenged and bio-feed back is offered immediately. Basically, if you swing something it needs to be in control or you will be off balance, fall over or worse hit yourself.

Taking into consideration that in most western communities we are not allowed to carry blades over a certain length, this limits the law abiding citizens ability for self defense. The less laudable citizenry don’t give a hoot, and will do what they want. Training in blade usage heightens a participants skill set, to be able to defend against a blade when empty-handed the skill set needs to be much higher. Since we cant carry a big blade and our skill may be less than what we desire, we need to cultivate a higher degree of vigilance. If we remain fixated on a specific tool we lose the ability to be proactive in seeking impromptu tools to be used for interceptive defense.

There are many more blunt objects available for a person to defend themselves with rather than a nice balanced blade from times past. The most important thing about an edged weapon may be argued is not the keenness of the blade but rather the keenness of the hand that wields it. In my opinion this refers to edge awareness or the line of impact. Obviously there is more to blade fighting than making sure you are holding it right. There is technique of course, but before that is the fundamental understanding of edge awareness which is an imperative for interceptive defense and with tool use in general.

First of all, there is no such thing as bad weather just ill prepared individuals; or so they say. But what happens when you want to train in inclement weather and can’t find the clothing which offers the correct protection. More importantly the clothing offers range of motion required to complete the given task which makes other tasks hard to do. Now there are plenty of winter clothes for outdoor sports and recreational past times and associated footwear. But what if you wanted to run or train outside in the winter but the foot apparel is not exactly what you need?

Of course there are boots and snow shoes but not so much foot ware for running or boot-camp training. One quick fix is to wear a water proof sock with your runners. This is a good way to keep your feet warm. I use a neoprene sock over a thin regular training sock. This works very well for me.

However, since a dilapidating knee issue several years ago from over training and regular foot ware. I started following a concept that a friend promoted to me which was barefoot running. The concept rocked me, because as a fitness instructor I know that by challenging my balance my muscles become stronger. What impressed me more about the idea of training this way was that as a martial artist I understood the benefit, but due to most fitness clubs rules and regulations I got into the habit of wearing my sport shoes. That and the fact that running barefoot on the road would have shredded my feet. I started to research the concept online and wow, I found out that there is a lot of argument at the moment for the use of a shoe which allows a person to run with minimal support and regular sport shoes. There are pros and cons for both.

Since the advent of footwear or the training shoe, there have been great leaps forward (pardon the pun). The 3 minute mile, working in adverse environments etc. But at a cost, and I am not talking just financial here. It is true that many good things have happened but when one thing gets changed there is usually a cascade effect or consequence. The effect is that our gait has changed and therefore the stresses on the participants body have changed due to the impact and foot placement. The muscles, ligaments and tendons are no longer taking the strain the joints are.

Admittedly, I can run faster in my running shoes than the shoe that I am about share with you. This is manly due to my gait as my foot placement is heel then toe in the regular running shoe. However if I were to run in a more ergonomically positive way my foot placement would change and so would the length of my gait. A shorter gait equates to less ground covered per step and therefore more time to cover the distance, so I become slower.

Before you read any further the question which begs to be asked is:

Am I happy training for a speed race I am not going to compete in or do I wish to run to develop my cardio and strengthen my muscles the way I was designed to run? All this and in subzero temps to.

I have found that several types of footwear are excellent for Bare feet running, although strictly speaking the fact that there is a foot covering dose not mean that you are truly barefoot. What barefoot running refers to is an unsupported shoe, more like a hardy sock. One of the shoe’s available are the the Vibram Five Finger. A good shoe for training and nice for summer ware. However, I find that the separation of the toes a bit awkward and I am in favor for the more classical sock approach. Now the shoe which I like is not strictly for winter training nor has it been designed for Barefoot running/training. The shoe has been designed for portaging and Kayaking. The Stohlquist caveman boot is a fantastic shoe for winter running, boot camp and martial arts in the inclement weather in my opinion. Like any shoe which has no support it allows the muscles in the foot to work how the are supposed to and they become stronger. There is enough rubber on the sole to protect from sharp stones but not enough to remove the ability to feel the unevenness of the ground underneath each step.

The shoe has a rubber sole with cross lateral grips and thin inner sole and a neoprene upper. There is no internal structure so its just like putting on a thick sock. I have trained in -20 with these and the heat my body makes store in the shoe. Also, due to the grip which runs from left to right you get bio-feed-back on each foot placement. If your foot dose not line up properly the grip slips in the snow. This allows you to correct foot placement on each step. Now as I said these shoes were not designed specifically for this but the barefoot feel is comparable to wearing a sock with out the chill factor, I can feel each dip, stone and bump with no pain due to the rubber flexible sole. I am must say I am enjoying my time training outside this winter.

Embrace your Warrior Queen Archetype

“Torqueblade training, for ladies? Women will never go for it”.

This is what I have been told over and over again by qualified professionals in the fitness industry. It amazes me that the movers and shakers have such a low opinion of the female resolve. But of course they surely don’t mean this. What I assume they mean to say is that the Torqueblade regime will not be hugely popular with the normal regular female fitness fanatics, after all only men like to play with blades – Ha! What about pirates of the Caribbean? Ok I know it’s a film.

But, here is an interesting fact, did you know that there have been many ancient warrior queens’ throughout history, here are a select few from as many different cultures as I could find. (You can find anything on the web if you try hard enough go to http://ancienthistory.about.com).

The Rig-Veda, a sacred poem of India, tells the story of a warrior, Queen Vishpla, who lost her leg in battle, was fitted with a false iron leg to return to battle.

Circa 1550 BC and Egyptian Queen Aahhotep I led armies against Thebes and helped to unite Egypt under one rule.

The Biblical Judge, Deborah, was a war leader during the occupation of Canaan 1250 -1050 BC.

Arabian warrior queens Zabibi and her successor Samsi reigned from approximately 740 to 720 BC. Both commanded armies containing large numbers of women.

Bouddicca queen of the Iceni. According to Tacitus, Suetonius, told his troops that “in their ranks there are more women than fighting men.”

In 39 AD Trung Trac and Trung Nhi led a Vietnamese uprising against the Chinese and reigned as queens until 43 AD. Their mother Tran Thi Doan trained them in martial arts and led troops into battle.

In 366AD Empress Jingo Kogo led a Japanese invasion of Korea. She was pregnant when she invaded Korea and had to have adjustable amour made.

Mavia, was Queen of the Bedouin Saracens from 370 to 380 AD. She led her troops in defeating a Roman army then made a favorable peace and married her daughter to the Roman commander in chief of the eastern Emperor Valens.

An English Saxon Princess led an invasion of Jutland in the 6th Century. In the 8th Century Queen Aethelburgh destroyed Taunton. In the 9th Century Queen Thyra of Denmark led her army against the Germans.

So there you have it, through out history many women have taken up arms or at least trained with them to much benefit.

Is the Torqueblade regime specifically for men?

The idea that raining regimes must differ for females and males, this is an untruth. The human body is basically the same for both sexes, apart from the obvious. Unless we grow a third arm, the way we move and manipulate our environment will never change. Fitness training, which includes, flexibility, strength and endurance modules, enhances the body regardless of gender. A person’s genetics will determine the shape but the environment determines how that shape will manifest. For example, environmental stressors such as toxic or noxious gasses, poor food choices or availability of nutritious foods, weather, low lands dweller or highlands dweller, physical employment as opposed to purely mental employment all have an effect on how our genetics assist with our development. For example the same plant will thrive in the sun but not so good in the shade. So – physical activity and a healthy lifestyle will have a positive effect on your physiology regardless of sex. Quite simply put, women will become more feminine and men more masculine.

Another myth I come across on a regular basis is that if a lady uses weights she will end up looking like a man, this also untrue and an unfounded fear. Over the years instructing in fitness I have had this discussion on a regular basis. Most ladies want to complete hours and hours of cardio because they believe this is the way to rid themselves flabby arms, butt and tummy. The ladies lose overall weight but don’t achieve the desired sleek body tone. If a person (male of female) purely uses a cardiovascular training format they will not develop the necessary muscle to have the desired natural athletic physique.

This is because an over abundance in cardiovascular training will eventually lead to cannibalization of one’s own muscular system. The body then carries on storing fat as an energy supply and the bingo flapping arms soon return. What makes it worse is that you are now skinny and have no muscle tone. The message here is that resistance training (weights) is a part of the required format to challenge the body as it would do in nature.

In short have ago, you wont’ know if you like it unless you try it. Many an opportunity has been lost due to indecision or fear – over come both and try something new. If we do not challenge ourselves we stagnate.

I prefer the enlightened clientele. It’s very rarely these days that anything worthwhile is discovered or that people are prepared to undergo the journey of discovery for their own benefit. So the question is, “Are you brave enough to challenge the bean counters expectations of Ladies and fitness?”

Why do I need fitness training?

Friday night conversation internal dialogue only (insert name here) –

I like my life the way it is, I don’t need to change, things are awesome, I like pizza, I like my beer, I like my $5.00 milky coffee to wake me up in the morning. Hey is that an ice cream store, I haven’t had one of those since Monday, that will keep me awake until I get home for dinner.

My indigestion kept me awake last night, I am running late to have breakfast, its OK I will have a burger and a coffee on the way to work.

Total calorie intake for pizza and beers = (more than you need for the whole day, possibly two)

Nutritional value = 0

Cost for antacid = $ (extra and potentialy not needed if eating a beneficial diet)

Total monetary expenditure (not including pants and shirt) = $ lots

Potential for accelerating congenital genetical disorder? Very high.

Sound familiar? This is not the path you were designed for, you were designed to run across fields, you were designed to climb mountains, pick fruit from tress, the vegetables from the ground, the rivers, the seas and eat meat when you could catch it. A bit extreme, I know, but you know what? Change the path of disingenuous habits and take the least expensive route and healthier one too. By no means am I saying swap your suit pants for a loin cloth, but I am suggesting if you start treating your body how it needs to be treated and not how you want to treat it you may possibly have a less stressful life.

Halloween Special – Motivation in Fitness.

Since it is the season of scary, I thought it would be a nice to share information about how Zombie Apocalypse Survivor (Z.A.S.) movies are a great metaphor and possible motivation for introspection and lifestyle. I realize that this may be a tenuous link, but bare with me, the survivors in these movies need to be very adaptable to their environment. The Z.A.S. need to keep their eye on the prize, live in the now, have good cardio, strength, body mechanics and last but not least, hand eye coordination. The question that arises from this list is “How do we obtain these attributes?”

Well the first thing is that we need to acknowledge is change. Most folks understand the need to change and are partially motivated until it comes to the crunch. They decide not follow their initial desire to change. To obtain the desired attributes a person needs motivation and must dig deep within themselves to fully appreciate all the ramifications as they take their first step towards their desired prize and lifestyle change.

The Z.A.S. needs no motivation other than that of not appearing on a menu. For us regular folk we need to cultivate motivation to aid in our success, which may be as simple as recognizing our needs opposed to our wants. The principles of the Z.A.S. may assist us in this task.

The essentials, what you need rather than what you want.

Set goals to achieve your prize

Remain Focused on your prize

Cultivate interest in many activities (you may need to know how to bungee jump from a helicopter whilst snowboarding – hypothetical Zombie Apocalypse – anything is possible)

I hope this assists you over the season of scarey, Happy Halloween folks.

Goals and Prizes – How to Succeed in Fitness

There are many ways to define the words Goal and Prize. Many people believe that both are the same. There is no wrong or right, however the following interpretation may assist a person to succeed. Goals are things to aim for and prizes are what you receive when you succeeded in your goals. If you put your prizes before your goals you may be setting yourself up for disappointment and lack of desire to complete your training. For example a six-pack is not a goal it’s a prize.

It may assist you to believe that your goals are aimed towards completing the exercise repetition better than the last, to push a little bit further each time in a safe manner.

Prizes, as I mentioned earlier, are attributes of goal completion. I have met many folks who fail before they start a regime. They expect to have the prize before the goal has been completed. Keeping your mind focused on the completion of goals will keep at bay the desire of the prize and increase the chance of maintaining your regime. Along the way you will learn more about yourself and still receive your prize.

How can Torqueblade help my troubled spots? I am often asked this question from women who want to embark on a fitness regime.

This question seemingly simple is fraught with pit falls. The question demands more attention as more often than not the first question asked is the wrong one.

I often answer the above question with another question. “Do you want to a long term economical approach to your question or a string of quick fix answers with no real lasting effects?”

This stumps people at first because they assumed that the initial question asked, referred to just that.

Language is a tricky thing because the words said do not really do justice to the actual desire trying to be expressed. Sometimes language is not enough and metaphors need to be used. By answering the asked question by the lady with my question I get an option to inform her about the preferred way to exercise.

Most people perceive their troubled spots to be whatever the media dictates. This usually goes along the lines of:

Saggy Arms

Saggy Butt

Wobbly Thighs

Wobbly Tummy

The T.V. informs us that by purchasing this machine for this particular area, and this area and so on. That if we can isolate theses troubled spots, the pounds will drop off and be lost. Unfortunately, the only pounds to be lost are usually from the pocket.

The simple fact is that machines are good for increasing muscle tone in that area but the whole body needs to worked in unison, as isolation of one particular body part will lead to an imbalance. What’s more, there is another more effective route to take.

One of the most effective ways to regain your youth or level of fitness and reform those saggy bits is to understand how the body moves and to challenge it in this way. The modalities that challenge the body effectively in a natural functional way are as follows:

Balance

Strength

Flexibility

Cardiovascular

Quickness

All of the above modalities or principles are fundamentals on how a fitness instructor understands how the body interacts with its environment. If one were to look further, we would see physics and chemistry play a very important role.

To improve the body’s fitness and adaptability, to be able to effectively interact with the environment in which it resides, a total body conditioning regime needs to be adhered to. Torqueblade offers that and more. Torqueblade will empower a participant as the motions, although generic, are based on ancient martial practices. The regime itself is not martial but the actions do lend themselves to this particular endeavor, as well as – but not limiting to, lacrosse, dancing, hockey, soccer and golf.

Torqueblade training will firm up the whole of the body as the regime challenges the whole body. So yes, Torqueblade will assist with the troubled spots. Torqueblade will enhance and assist in sculpting long lean muscle – from top to bottom: Shoulders, arms, tummy, butt, thighs and legs will all become sleek and sexier.

For a more meditative regime, try Tranquilblade DVD out in August 2008

Busy life training schedule ?

It does seem that we are in a busy age, but I can tell you that every person through out history has said this from a Roman historian named Pliney to a 17th century swordsman named Silver. However they had an advantage that at that time technology was still primitive and a vast majority of the vocations were of a physical nature and therefore took care of the need to exercise. We, unfortunately have to deal with, quick fix snacks, quick fix fun, heavy work loads on the brain and light work loads on the muscle. So organization is paramount, and at the end of the day when we are mentally fatigued we have no energy to work out.

As a martial artist and fitness professional I realize how important it is to be fit, and how much time is required to train not only physical conditioning but also, the technical and mental principles.

With out going into all of the technical mumbo jumbo, there are basic principles to adhere to.